Before & After

Before

The problem: This client had purchased a brand new dining room set and was having trouble figuring out how to accessorize the hutch - what to buy, how big it should be, where to get it, how to arrange it. It didn't need to be used for storage, only display. The dining area is open to the living room, so they wanted to make sure both ends of the room worked together.  

The solution: We looked to the colour of the dining chair seats for the colour scheme - green, rusty red, and a hint of gold. Step one was shopping in the client's home - they had a set of old dishes packed away that fit perfectly with the colour scheme. Green and golden yellow ceramic plates and bowls that were just sitting unused in a cabinet.

 

After

Step two was heading out shopping for the rest of the pieces needed to fill in the gaps. I found some large square plates in the colours of the dishes we had taken from the homeowner's cupboards, and used them behind the stacks of dishes to give the displays some height and tie things together. Without the plates behind them, the stacks looked incomplete. I also found a great trio of candle holders (top right corner) that were exactly the right colour - putting them on the top shelf spreads the colour evenly so no particular spot is off-balance.

We added a few family photos in matching black frames, and word art that the homeowner spray painted black to match. Now it co-ordinates with the rest of the room and makes a great focal point.

A is for Accessorizing

Based on what I've been hearing from clients, one thing that causes a major decorating headache is accessorizing. What to buy, how many, where to put it. Accessories may be on the smaller side, but they have a big influence on how the room looks.

image from Pottery Barn

Here are a few general guidelines and tips to make accessorizing a little easier:

Group your accessories in odd numbers (three or five work nicely!).

Group together items of various sizes - avoid putting all one size together. Mix it up by putting tall with short, wide with narrow, etc.

Try grouping items of the same colour together.

Displaying collections against a contrasting background makes them stand out.

Try grouping like items together as well. A seashell on the table, one on the mantel and one on the floor are "3 seashells in a room". Put them together and they're a "collection".

If you have a huge collection of something particular, display some and put the rest away - then rotate the pieces every few months to change things up a bit. 

On a bookshelf, add some accessories so it's not just books - mixing together books and accessories adds a bit of interest and variety.

If you have mismatched or ugly accessories that you can't bear to part with, try painting them. A can of flat white spray paint can fix a lot! A group of mismatched accessories become a collection when they're unified by white spray paint - try vases, ceramic birds, pumpkins, etc. Anything you find can be painted to tie together.

Try one or all of these tips and see how your accessorizing improves. Let me know how it goes!